Clark Howard's Tips

Strategies for coping with high prices at the supermarket

April 15, 2008

If you've been to the supermarket lately, you've probably gotten serious sticker shock. Prices are up the most they've been in 17 years; for example, staples like milk and eggs are each up 25%.

So what can you do to cope with the price increases? For starters, you may want to shop at Aldi. This hard discounter does very little advertising, has small stores and a limited selection with a lot of house brands. But it's very cheap. Estimates suggest you can reduce your usual grocery costs by 40% when shopping at Aldi.

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Wal-Mart comes in at a close second. The Wall Street Journal finds that Wal-Mart can be up to 30% cheaper than the traditional major supermarket chains. But beware that a major customer satisfaction index recently gave it a horrible score when it comes to the shopping experience.

More customer-friendly yet cheap retailers you may want to visit include Trader Joe's and Fresh & Easy. Finally, be sure to check out CouponMom.com for access to a variety of coupons. Remember, every dollar you save at the market is an after-tax dollar that stays in your pocket.

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